The values of Democracy and Rule of Law are based on a shared community where people feel that they belong. This assembly helps pupils begin to think about the nature of family which, in its various and diverse forms, is a place where we feel we belong.

OPENING ACTIVITY

Family Traditions (story)

Tell the children about one of your own family traditions (e.g. what you do at Christmas), using a prop to illustrate, if possible.

Explain how the tradition came about, how it makes you feel (or how it made you feel as a child) and what it says about the type of family to which you belong. Alternatively, you could invite a guest speaker – perhaps a grandparent of one of the children – to tell a story about their family.

Clumps (story)

Invite eight-twelve volunteers to come to the front to play a very quick game of Clumps.

Play some music and ask the children to walk around as you do so. When the music stops call out a number. The children must form clumps of that number and anyone not in a clump of the right size is out and must stand to the side. Once there are a few children standing at the side (or when your time limit runs out), make the point that families come in all different sizes. Also, ask how it felt to be the odd one out, highlighting how important it is to feel part of a community.

FILM CLIP

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (DreamWorks, 2014, certificate U).

Start time: 17:43 (in chapter 5)

End time: 20:54

Clip length: 3 minutes and 11 seconds

The clip begins when Mr. Peabody walks across a room to look at a selection of framed photographs of Sherman. The song ‘Beautiful Boy’ begins to play as the shot zooms in to focus on a sepia photo. The clip ends after the shot zooms back out to show the whole selection of photos once more. The song finishes and Mr. Peabody nods his head.

If you cannot play the clip, say:

Mr. Peabody has a wall covered with photographs of Sherman and all the things that he has done with Sherman. He remembers how he taught Sherman to ride a bike, to swim and to walk. He protected him, cared for him and made him laugh. When he found Sherman as a baby, Mr. Peabody wanted to give him a home.

What is a family? Let’s start by thinking about all the different types of families there are – can you give me an example of a type of family? [Take suggestions, offering some ideas to get them started if necessary – small/large families, young/old children, adopted children, fostered children, grandparents/aunties/uncles/cousins, step-mother/father/brothers/sisters, single parent, separated/divorced parents, only child, lots of children, etc.]

Every family is different. No one else has a family like yours or like mine – each one is special.

Think for a moment about one thing that makes your family different from everyone else’s. Turn to the person next to you and tell them about it – if you can’t think of anything, just tell them something about your family (you may find that it is more special than you think!) [Pause for conversation.] Now we’re going to watch a film clip from Mr. Peabody and Sherman. It’s about a child who has been adopted.

[PowerPoint slide 3]

Adoption is when a child comes into a family through a legal process, rather than by being born into it. The adoptive parents did not give birth to the child, but in every other way they are the child’s parents.

The boy in the film has a very unusual type of family – he has been adopted by an amazingly clever dog, who can travel through time.

Play the film clip from Mr. Peabody and Sherman:

Start time: 17:43 (in chapter 5)

End time: 20:54

Clip length: 3 minutes and 11 seconds

The clip begins when Mr. Peabody walks across a room to look at a selection of framed photographs of Sherman. The song ‘Beautiful Boy’ begins to play as the shot zooms in to focus on a sepia photo. The clip ends after the shot zooms back out to show the whole selection of photos once more. The song finishes and Mr. Peabody nods his head.

If you cannot play the clip, say:

‘Mr. Peabody has a wall covered with photographs of Sherman and all the things that he has done with Sherman. He remembers how he taught Sherman to ride a bike, to swim and to walk. He protected him, cared for him and made him laugh. When he found Sherman as a baby, Mr. Peabody wanted to give him a home.’

[PowerPoint slide 4]

Why did Mr. Peabody want to adopt Sherman? [Takes suggestions – loved him, felt sorry for him, wanted to give him a home.] When Mr. Peabody was a puppy, nobody wanted to take him home because he was different from other dogs. Mr. Peabody didn’t want Sherman to feel like that. He wanted to give Sherman a home.

What are some of the things that make Sherman’s family special? [Take suggestions – he’s adopted, he’s an only child, he has a single father, his father is a dog, his father is a genius, they can travel back in time…!]

Mr. Peabody taught Sherman to ride a bike, to skate, to swim. He helped him catch a ball, play the piano, walk. He protected him and looked after him. He chose Sherman to be his son.

The Bible says that God is an adoptive father too. It says that God has chosen to bring people into his family.

[PowerPoint slide 5]

‘God was kind and decided that Christ would choose us to be God’s own adopted children.’ (Ephesians 1:5, CEV)

The Church is God’s family of adopted children. They live all around the world, but they think of themselves as brothers and sisters because they believe Jesus has chosen them to be part of God’s family. Now that’s a large family!

What made God choose people to be in his family? ‘Kindness’. People who are part of the Church aren’t any better than anyone else; they are chosen by God simply because he is kind, and the Bible encourages them to share God’s kindness with the whole world.

[PowerPoint slide 6]

Kindness is an important part of family life, isn’t it? There is a saying: ‘You can’t choose your family.’ That’s probably true for all of you – you didn’t choose who your parents would be. You might wish you had the chance to choose different ones sometimes!

[PowerPoint slide 7]

But, they choose you. This is especially true for those who are adopted. But, every time your parent (or guardian) puts your needs before their own, they are choosing you. How does that make you feel? [Take suggestions.]

As you reflect on the kindness of your family or of God, let’s remember to be kind to each other today. We may not be related to each other, but we also have the power to choose to be kind.

Headings and Bullets

Families of all shapes and sizes [PowerPoint slide 1-2]

What is a family?

Different types of families.

What might a family do together?

What do families share?

How should families treat each other?

Our families

Every family is different.

No family is like your family or my family.

What makes your family different from everyone else’s?

Adoption [PowerPoint slide 3]

Introduce the film clip.

Definition of adoption.

Explain that the adoptive relationship in the film is not typical!

Play the film clip from Mr. Peabody and Sherman.

Sherman’s family [PowerPoint slide 4]

Why did Mr. Peabody want to adopt Sherman?

Mr. Peabody didn’t want Sherman to feel left out, like he did as a puppy.

He wanted to give Sherman a home.

What are some of the things that make Sherman’s family special?

Mr. Peabody chose Sherman to be his son.

God’s family [PowerPoint slide 5]

The Bible says that God is an adoptive father too.

‘God was kind and decided that Christ would choose us to be God’s own adopted children.’ (Ephesians 1:5, CEV).

The Church is God’s family of adopted children.

They live all around the world, but they think of themselves as brothers and sisters.

The Bible says that God chooses people simply because he is kind, and he tells them to share God’s kindness with the world.

Choosing family [PowerPoint slide 6-7]

Kindness is an important part of family life.

‘You can’t choose your family’.

But, they choose you.

This is especially true for adopted children, but every time your parent puts your needs before their own, they are choosing you.

How does that make you feel?

As you reflect on the kindness of your family or of God, let’s choose to be kind to each other today.

RESPOND

Reflection

Let’s close our eyes for a moment, and think about what ‘family’ means to us.

Has your idea of ‘family’ changed as a result of this assembly? [Pause.] Why are families so important? [Pause.] Why is your family important to you? [Pause.]

Prayer

Dear God, Thank you for giving each of us our own, special family. Thank you for creating us to be kind. Thank you for wanting us to be in your family. Amen.